with claws like knives and teeth like daggers
by Soul Jelly
Summary: In which a XANA attack turns Yumi into a werewolf. As if things weren't already complicated enough. YumixUlrich.
1. part one

with claws like knives and teeth like daggers  
_by SoulJelly_  


* * *

The clouds disappear and the moonlight hits her all at once, milky silvery malice, drawing something sharp and primal out from under Yumi's skin.

She gasps, the high and breathless sound sinking at its climax into something low and guttural, as the small round ellipse of her mouth splits wide with glinting white daggers of teeth. Fur bristles along her skin, erupting out of a misshapen form as her bones snap and split and shape again.

Her eyes don't leave Ulrich's the entire time.

Even afterwards, when XANA's attack is over and the grey dawn leaves Yumi huddled and human in the shredded remains of her clothes, even when she doesn't remember all she has done, his face with its expression of abject horror is burned into her like a brand.

–

Unfortunately, it takes another full moon and a second explosive rampage for the Lyoko warriors to realise that XANA has caused something of a… long-term problem.

It's ridiculous, of course, but as Jeremie points out they live in a world of supercomputers, and an artificial intelligence whose machinations defy a good portion of the Earth's laws of physics. So all in all, having a teammate turn into a wolf during every full moon is just another thing to take in stride.

"So, uh… You want me to buy extra dog food when I go shopping?" Odd asks, and Yumi isn't sure if he's trying to make light of the situation or making a misguided attempt at being genuinely helpful, but either way she isn't in the mood at all and he receives a sharp dig in the ribs for his trouble.

Odd exclaims sharply, rubbing his side, but withers under Ulrich's glare. Aelita has her arm around Yumi and simply grants him a disapproving shake of the head.

Jeremie is already opening up his laptop, talking in a breathless stream about scanners and digital blueprints and reverse-engineering and re-coding DNA from Yumi's existing virtual structure. He'll have the solution by next week.

"What about your final exams?" Yumi reminds him.

"Week and a half, then." Without so much as a pause from the rapid click of his fingers against the keys, Jeremie looks up and smiles at her, but his mind is already somewhere else.

As it happens, between escalating XANA attacks and increasing homework loads and the clumsiness of Herve Pichon with a glass of water beside Jeremie's laptop, it ends up taking a little longer than that. By the third transformation, Yumi's smiles are more tired, her face more pinched and pale than the others have ever seen it. It's hard to miss the anxious way Ulrich wrings his hands when Yumi is near, as though he is constantly at war with himself over whether his touch will comfort her.

She pretends not to notice. The dark sweep of her hair hides her face from his gaze, which flickers over her like a broken light.

–

"You know," says Yumi, "call me crazy but I'm starting to think XANA really has it in for me."

Ulrich considers this as he slings a punch at her.

"You mean more than the rest of us?"

Yumi dodges. The sharp point of her elbow meets with Ulrich's chin. She watches without sympathy as he staggers backwards.

"I just mean that of all people, of course this whole werewolf thing was going to happen to me."

A nearby tree gives Ulrich the momentum he needs to swing forward into another punch. The conversation gives way to laboured breathing as their sparring intensifies, nothing but the rustle of the grass in the park and dappled sunlight through the trees to draw away their focus.

Yumi watches Ulrich's eyes, sees them slide to the right. She grabs his arm as he makes the right hook, heaves a grunt as she twists it behind his back. He cries out and struggles in her grasp, back to her now, close enough that the warm of her raises the hairs on the nape of his neck.

"Argh, Yumi!" he says, sharply, and she relents a little but still holds him there. He hooks his foot around her calf and tries to trip her, but Yumi holds him stubbornly upright.

She thinks about the first time, the expression on Ulrich's face as he witnessed her transformation. Her fur, wet and black like an oil slick in the moonlight. His skin sheened with sweat.

The little grunts and gasps that escaped him as he struggled under the weight of her body, the paws that clamped down heavy on his chest.

Yumi draws in a shuddering breath. It's like a memory from someone else's dream, what comes after, delivered to her in stark, waking flashes in the days after the full moon has waned – glistening raw muscle, a rush of crimson, the primal need to tear and taste and trap her prey.

_"How bad was it, really?" she asked him afterwards as they sat in the dark outside her house, her hands around his arm, fingers running the length of the skin smooth and repaired after a return trip in time._

_"It was… Look, it doesn't matter. It's fixed now." He flexes his arm in demonstration. "Do you really not remember?"_

_She shakes her head._

_Why she's decided that lying is easier, she doesn't know._

The memories seem to assault all her senses. The smell of him now, the musk and sweat that are uniquely him, masked by that deodorant that all teenage boys his age seem to wear. Muscles rippling under his shirt as he still tries to escape. The curve of his shoulder within tantalizing reach of her teeth…

"You've been training hard, huh?" he gasps, finally heaving his arm free, and Yumi blinks hard as she remembers where they are and why they're here.

"Y-Yeah."

Her chest is heaving. There's a slight pinkness to Ulrich's cheeks; Yumi wonders if she is blushing too.

Then Ulrich relaxes his stance and his face softens with concern. "Do you want to keep going? Or are you still hurting after-" he gestures vaguely.

Yumi scowls. She wishes she had hidden it better, but her friends – and especially Ulrich – know her too well, see the pained expression and the extra tenderness in her muscles in the days after she has transformed.

"I'm fine, Ulrich." Her tone is flat.

He looks taken aback. "All right, all right. We're just worried, you know. I'm happy to spar with you, I just don't want us to overdo it, that's all."

"I can handle things just fine on my own, I don't need to be treated like an invalid."

"Hey," he exclaims, "No one's saying that."

She knows he's right, but she's suddenly filled with anger, a possessive sense of loss she expects arises from the absence of his body in her grip. Yumi shrugs, closes the gap between them with a few quick steps and extends her knee in a roundhouse kick.

Dropping low, Ulrich scrambles away. They duck and dive for several minutes more, his face determined, hers set in an ever deeper grimace.

"I saw the look on your face, when I first transformed," she spits at last, between breaths.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't lie to me." Her teeth are fully bared now and her punches come thicker and faster, Ulrich's hands a blur as he races to keep up. "You were so disgusted, with what I'd become."

"Yumi, that's-"

"And now you're always looking at me like… like I'm about to take a bite out of you at any second. Like you're _afraid_ of me."

She's breathing hard and her vision is blurry but whether it's sweat or tears in her vision she can't tell. She just wants it to be over, all of it – she wants her body back, her control; she wants to stop shrinking from Ulrich's touch and the way it raises the hairs on her skin, the way it reminds her of the wolf's fur standing on end; the way she no longer knows if she wants to kiss him or tear him to pieces with her teeth.

When the sparring ends, Yumi brushes away all of Ulrich's attempts to talk to her. The way he is looking at her is… something she can't figure out, and Yumi hates not knowing where she stands with Ulrich to an even greater extent than usual.

Yumi refuses the invitation to walk back to Kadic together. Only when Ulrich is long gone does she crumple to the ground and slam a fist into the grass, where the mud catches in the creases of her skin.

When the first sob rises in her throat, she truly expects it to emerge as a growl.

"XANA, what have you done?"


	2. part two

with claws like knives and teeth like daggers  
_by SoulJelly_

_part two_

_for Alana_

* * *

Yumi tosses and turns in her bed, dreaming of wild things.

It's dark and she's running. She moves by smell more than sight, rabbits thrash in the undergrowth, there are sounds of tiny bones and branches snapping. There is only the thrill of the hunt, laboured breath, darkness and brown and green.

She's in Jeremie's room, watching him work. His bed is soft and after last night's fitful sleep, all Yumi wants to do is close her eyes. Her body feels bulky and cumbersome. Too much hair and muscle. She shaved this morning and already can feel the regrowth prickling her skin.

Jeremie spins his chair around and smiles at her around a large yawn. Yumi tries not to feel angry with him, but anger is second nature these days. She feels like dry brush on the constant verge of setting aflame.

"It's going to be all right, Yumi. Remember," says Jeremie, "XANA hasn't beat us yet."

It's true, Yumi thinks, but as she looks at Jeremie's face she remembers all their sneaking around and covert world-saving, and all she can think about is how good they have all become at lying.

"I'm fine," she tells Odd and Ulrich.

They can see the moon faintly in the daytime sky, one very full, pale eye that stares down at Yumi like a threat, a promise. She's taken off her watch, staunchly avoids looking at her mobile phone. It's afternoon, still – there's time left – but she doesn't want any reminders as the hours creep closer to nightfall. The weirdness with Ulrich hasn't gone away like it usually does, and now his presence beside her on the bench is… distracting.

He smiles at her. Yumi's heart gives a mighty surge. She almost reaches out to grab him, to- _something_, she doesn't know, she just suddenly wants no one else to be around. Odd is seated on Ulrich's other side and his shoulder jostles Ulrich's as he raises a can of soda to his lips. Yumi just about resists the urge to snarl at him.

Though she won't admit it, Yumi is afraid. She doesn't know if she can endure this a fourth time. There's the build-up, a slow crawl through days where her body rejects itself and bulks into something primal; then, the aching pain of transformation, the snapping and reshaping of bones and the shifting of skin; and finally, the dull aches afterwards that even the returns to the past can't seem to fix. Caught in the relentless tug of the lunar cycle, Yumi doesn't ever quite feel right these days. The wolf is always there, threatening to leap out from under her skin. She's been avoiding her parents, Hiroki too, just in case.

She remembers parts of it, after the fact – in flashbacks, in dreams – but she'd rather they think she doesn't remember anything at all. It's easier that way. She doesn't want any more details, doesn't want to dwell on the scratches, the torn clothing, the blood.

"Ulrich deaaar!"

Sissi is all swaying hips, all softness and curves, floral perfume. She ignores Yumi and Odd, leans down to Ulrich with a simpering smile. "How are you, Ulrich? I haven't talked to you properly in ages. Do you want to study together this afternoon?"

Ulrich rolls his eyes, but before he can answer Yumi cuts in.

"He's good thanks. He doesn't need _your_ help."

Sissi raises an eyebrow. "How rude. You know, you've been acting weird lately Yumi, even for you." Her lip curls into a smirk as she eyes Yumi's plain clothes and broad shoulders. "Maybe Ulrich wants to hang out with a proper lady for once."

Yumi's cold glare meets Sissi's disdainful sneer.

Then Sissi reaches out to put her hand on Ulrich's arm, and Yumi sees red.

"Yumi!"

She's on her feet-

Shoes scuffle on gravel-

A shriek-

Angry shouts-

A snarling sound, which Yumi finally realises is coming from her.

Ulrich and Odd hold her back by the arms, struggling with the effort. Sissi flinches as though the punch had actually landed. Yumi breathes hard, muscles straining beneath her shirt. It's all happened so quickly, it takes her her a good few moments to calm down. Everyone in the grounds is looking their way. Someone is calling for Jim.

"What are you _doing_?" yells Sissi. She's gone pale but there are two high spots of colour on her cheeks. Her fingers tremble as her hands lower to her sides.

"No, wait, Sissi! I'm sorry, I- "

The principal's daughter is already stalking away. When she glances over her shoulder, the fear in her eyes is unmistakeable.

"Wait until my father hears about this, Yumi Ishiyama!"

Odd pauses a beat then races after Sissi, trying to calm her down, trying not to get Yumi in any more trouble than she's already in.

Ulrich is staring at Yumi with that now-familiar look. Anxiety, pity.

His hand is still on her arm. She shrugs it angrily away.

It's getting dark when they reach the factory.

Jeremie is tapping away at the supercomputer, a comfortingly familiar sound. He's frowning, deep in concentration, and ducks his head guiltily as Yumi and Ulrich appear in the elevator doorway.

"Everything should be finished soon. I'm sorry Yumi, XANA's been so relentless with attacks it's been hard to keep up." He looks paler than usual, gaze a little unfocused behind his glasses. Ulrich pulls a flask from his bag and wordlessly hands it over. Jeremie takes a long swig and continues to type one-handed.

Yumi's nose twitches at the smell of coffee. She smiles, but it's forced and tired.

"It's okay, Einstein. Make sure you get a long rest after all of this is over."

"I should be so lucky," says Jeremie with a wry chuckle. "We'll see what XANA has to say. Anyway, the good news is that I've been able to recreate your genetic structure from your virtual code. I'm not exactly a geneticist, so it's been a little complicated."

Ulrich's gaze is a little vacant, already lost.

Jeremie continues, "Ideally I'd keep examples of all of your DNA stored here just in case, but I shudder to think what XANA would do if it got hold of something like that."

Ulrich and Yumi exchange glances and shiver.

"Mad scientist vibes, Einstein," says Ulrich. "That's a little creepy even for us. Anyway, we should… go and get ready. Come on, Yumi."

Ulrich descends the ladder, bag slung over his shoulder, and Yumi follows. The metal is cold under their palms and rings loudly as they descend, duck into the small room they've found adjacent to the scanner room. It's still upended from the last time they were here, with claw marks gouged deep into the wall and a cushion torn to shreds, tufts of fur among its stuffing. Yumi stares pointedly at the ceiling.

"Is everything okay?" she asks.

"All sorted. Odd has me covered at the dorm and your parents think you're spending the night with Aelita."

Yumi nods. Anxiety is gnawing at her gut.

"Hey. I'll be next door if you need me." Ulrich wraps an arm around her. She breathes in deeply and her lips brush his neck. They blush.

"Wait." Yumi whips her head. "Do you hear that?"

"What-?"

And then—then the vines are everywhere and they don't need to hear Jeremie yelling from the floor above to know that XANA is attacking.

They erupt from the floor, thick cords of green that wind through every crevice and fill the room with a cloying, earthy smell and undercurrent of sewage. Thorns scratch them deep enough to draw blood and flowers release sprays of stinging pollen.

Before either of them can react, the vines lift Ulrich bodily from the floor and drag him through a gap in the shattered wall. Yumi catches one final glimpse of his terrified face before he is swallowed by the darkness. She races after him without a second thought.

She's forgotten how big the factory is as she winds her way through mazes of corridors, leaping over old machinery, desperately trying to follow Ulrich's trail. The cold air stings her throat. She barely even thinks about where she's going until she finds herself on the main floor of the factory. Presumably, exactly where XANA wanted her to be.

Moonlight pours through the high windows. Yumi is frozen.

There's no more time to think before she's bursting out of her skin, snarling and snapping as the wolf breaks free at last.

Senses sharp and keen now, she knows exactly where Ulrich is. Vines pin him by the wrists and throat to one of the factory walls and blood trickles in tiny rivulets over his skin. He gives a rattling cough as the vines cut off his air supply; his legs kick feebly and then hang limp.

The wolf snarls.

_Mine_\- it thinks.

_My friend-_ pleads Yumi.

Nothing else matters. Not Aelita and Odd racing to Lyoko, not Jeremie being slowly tortured by more of XANA's vines. Yumi's entire world has shrunk to this.

Claws and teeth.

Desperation.

_Rage_.

The vines snake around her paws and snag on her fur, but Yumi bites at everything within her reach. She sinks her teeth into each and every branch and tosses her head, growling, fighting as though this were XANA itself. Weeks of anger, helplessness, frustration, fear – everything is poured into the destruction of her enemy. Vines scatter like corpses across the floor.

Yumi and the wolf, united in a common purpose, throw back their head and howl.

The battle goes on and on until-

Finally…

Silence.

The vines wither at last and stay dead. The wolf sniffs suspiciously, eyes narrowed, waiting for XANA to spring back to life, the primal part of its brain forgetting for a moment about the tower.

There's a soft sound in the shadows as Ulrich's body collapses to the floor. He stirs a little but doesn't wake up. Defenseless.

Yumi can smell the blood on him. It's in her head, painting over all of her senses, setting her heart racing.

The wolf slavers, remembering torn flesh and glistening muscle. Power, instinct.

There's a long pause as, disorientated, the wolf tries to remember what to do.

Ulrich wakes to hot breath on his face. He gasps aloud but forces himself to stay calm as he stares into a pair of huge yellow eyes.

"Yumi," he rasps. "It's me, Yumi."

He waits, holding his breath, fists clenched, expecting his life to be ripped from him at any moment.

The wolf blinks long and slow, almost as though it's at war with itself.

And then, it turns and walks away from him.


End file.
